Page 53 of Dark Souls

Bloodlust

“D on’t make any sudden movements that will spook him,” Grandpapi whispered as we stood a respectful distance away from Ronnie’s naked form. He was on his knees, leaning over and digging at something in the soil. “His blood thirst will make him extremely volatile right now.”

Leif scoffed. “As much as I take pleasure in watching a naked man bending over, I am too confused to truly appreciate that tight ass and those bouncing balls right now. What the fuck is he doing?”

Raiden turned his back on Ronnie and shoved Leif’s shoulder before balling his fists into his eye sockets. “The visual. The description. Urgh. So unnecessary.”

“What is he doing?” I whispered. Dry soil flung backwards behind him as he continued to dig with his bare hands, his arms moving with an unnatural speed that no human could muster. Suddenly, he stopped. His muscular back and shoulders were rising and falling with every panted breath, and then he fell back into a sitting position, seemingly giving up on his mission to reach the Earth’s core.

“I’m going to speak to him,” Sienna said, braving a step forward. Raiden grabbed her hand protectively.

“We will all go.”

Cautiously, we approached at a snail’s pace, trying our best not to make any sudden movements that would cause him to either attack or flee. When Leif knocked a stone with his foot and sent it tumbling across the ground, Ronnie’s head snapped around, and we all froze.

“Shit,” Leif muttered.

Ronnie’s eyes glowed a deep crimson as if they had been set on fire from within, showing his insatiable hunger. They darted between us all, almost chaotically and with hypnotic intensity, paralysing us all in place with the erratic danger they represented.

“Ron?” Sienna said softly, pulling his attention to her face. His gaze narrowed as he studied her. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time and trying to place her face. “Ron. It’s me. Sienna. Phoenix. Little bird.”

Ronnie jerked his head to the side unnaturally, opening his mouth and baring a full set of razor-sharp fangs. Sienna gasped, slamming her hand over her mouth and took a step back into Raiden’s chest. Even I could admit, seeing him this feral and primal was rather shocking and guilt lodged itself in my chest. He was never meant to get dragged into my shit and become collateral damage.

“Ronnie? It’s Ilaria.” I tried next, taking one step closer. His whole body twisted towards me, and his head twitched to the side as if he was trying to keep control of his body’s volatile actions. “We are here to help you. You are going to be okay.”

When he didn’t show any immediate signs of attacking, Grandpapi nodded to me to keep talking as we all approached him.

“I know you’re confused. And scared. But I promise you, you will be fine.”

He threw his dirt-covered hands up to his shaved head and dug his newly sharp nails into his skull.

“Blood. I need blood,” he husked, his voice sounding scratchy and raw as if he hadn’t spoken in centuries.

“I understand. We will get you blood.” I glanced at my grandpapi, who pulled out the blood bag we’d brought with us and threw it down on the floor. Ronnie scrambled forwards for it, ripping into it and guzzling the entire contents in one go.

“More!” he demanded, the red liquid running down his chin. When I was closer to him, I crouched down to his level.

Grandpapi passed me another one, and I handed it to him. He gave it the same treatment and I quickly realised blood bags would never suffice. Luka had poisoned him with his blood, causing him to turn after death and he needed something a lot more substantial before his vampire side would retreat and give way to his humanity.

“He needs to drink from a human,” I said, moving my gaze to Grandpapi and Raiden. Raiden already had his phone in hand and was scrolling.

“On it. Searching the green list now to see what I can find for our friend.”

Being only a few feet away, I visibly saw Ronnie’s whole body shaking. His veins were protruding and pulsing beneath his skin and every muscle in his body was twitching and spasming as if he was having an inner battle with his own control.

“I’m so sorry, Ronnie,” I whispered, feeling sick to my stomach at the sight of him. I could only imagine how much physical pain he must have been in at the moment and how his hunger was all-consuming. But that begged the question as to why he hadn’t gone on a killing spree and instead came here… I moved my gaze to the hole he had dug in the soil and my mouth dropped open. There was a pile of bones and the photos of Hana were tied together with my pink feather boa next to them.

“How?” I gasped, my gaze moving to Ronnie.

“Master commanded…” Ronnie wheezed, taking a second to grit his teeth against the pain before he continued. “The first thing I do… is come here. I must protect them with my life.”

Master? My eyes widened as I made the link.

“Ronnie is loyal to Luka now. They have a sire bond. He will always want to please him and be near him. It was the same when my father turned a human called Baylor and made him his second-in-command, because he’d do absolutely anything my father asked of him,” Grandpapi explained for the rest of the group’s benefit.

“So… Ilaria’s ex is now her mate’s little bitch? Oh, this is gold.” Leif laughed. It took everything in me not to throw a rock at his head.

“He needs to feed. Only then will he be able to tell us what happened,” Grandpapi said, stepping towards Ronnie and bending down. “Ronnie? Leif, Sienna and Raiden are going to stay here and protect the bones. Ilaria and I are going to take you to feed.”

He started shaking his head. “I can’t leave them here–”

“You won’t. We will be back, and we will take them with us. You did well, and you’ve done what your master asked of you. What else did he ask you to do?”

Ronnie lifted his head and looked directly at me. His red eyes shimmered so beautifully in the sunlight. As much as he was a mess right now, it was clear to see that this man would make a beautiful vampire.

“Find and protect her.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. My heart nearly broke all over again just knowing that Luka did all this because he felt like he had no other choice.

“And her,” he pointed down at the pictures in the dirt. “Protect them both because Master can’t.”

I pressed my lips together as the raw emotions took me by the throat once more. Luka was in serious trouble. I knew that anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach that just would not die was there for a reason. A warning that only truly bonded mates can experience. He would never have gone to such extreme measures unless he really believed he wouldn’t be around much longer to protect his sister. To protect me.

“I need to find him. I need to find Luka. He’s not okay, Grandpapi, I know it. Something awful is going to happen to him if we aren’t quick enough and–” Firm hands were placed on my shoulders.

“We will find him. But we can’t rush this, Ilaria. Too much is at stake. One step at a time. We feed Ronnie, and then he tells us what he knows. Okay?”

I nodded, pulling myself back to my feet as we both grabbed Ronnie’s arms and hauled him up onto his shaking legs.

“It’s your lucky day, Ron bear,” Raiden said with a twinkle in his eyes as Grandpapi and I helped Ronnie into a pair of sweatpants. “New entry on the system today. Seven men wanted for child-trafficking in Manchester. Sources say they are all hiding out in an abandoned warehouse in the city.”

Leif opened a portal to the location and the three of us stepped through to a dive alleyway marked with graffiti and littered with needles and cigarette butts. We tugged Ronnie towards a dented metal door.

“You will feel better after this. Go wild, Ronnie. These men are the true monsters of this world, so no need to feel any remorse for taking every drop,” Grandpapi said before mumbling some Latin, which bent the metal bolt on the door right off. He kicked it open with his foot to show a darkened warehouse. Deep voices echoed in the distance.

Ronnie didn’t even look back as he zoomed inside with his mouth wide and teeth bared. I glanced at Grandpapi, who gestured for me to enter next. “After you, Princess.”

In under ten minutes and between the three of us, all seven bodies had been drained of blood, and we’d piled them in the centre of the warehouse, setting them on fire and transported ourselves back to the others.

Ronnie slumped down on the floor, with his knees bent and head hanging in his hands. Sienna sat next to him, pulling him in for a hug when she realised his hunger was sated and his eyes were no longer gleaming with bloodlust. They wouldn’t return to their normal brown for a few days yet. Not until he had greater control over his thirst. But they were much duller than before.

The rest of us walked away to give them a moment of privacy, which really pained me to do. I was trying not to be a selfish asshole right now, but I needed to know what the hell Luka had told Ronnie before he turned him. I needed to know what was happening to my mate.

After a minute, I couldn’t wait any longer. Ignoring Raiden’s protests, I marched up to them and sat down on the other side of Ronnie. He lifted his head to look at me and even gave a half smile.

“So, I met your soulmate. Charming dude,” were the first words out of his mouth. Despite my misery, I snorted, which turned into a desperate choking sound as the panic sank in. Ronnie threw his arm around my shoulder and pulled me to his side.

“I’m sorry, Ronnie. You were never meant to get dragged into all this.”

“Don’t be. I agreed to it all.”

“What?” I sat up straight to gape at him.

“Well,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “Maybe not all of it. Being abducted from my home by some scary ass demon, flying three hundred metres in the air all the way to Oregon by my ankle and then tied to a chair in your apartment wasn’t exactly consensual, but the rest…”

“Wait! Heathen kidnapped you?”

“The sarcastic as fuck winged one with horns? Yeah. He kept looking at the clock when he had me tied to that chair, shitting my fucking pants, thinking I was about to be eaten alive and then as soon as the clock struck the next hour, boom! He shifted into a red-headed tattooed punk who told me he was your soulmate and if I cared about you, wanted to ensure you stayed alive as well as everyone I loved, I would agree to his plan.”

“What plan? Where is he?” I asked, unable to sit still as I shuffled closer to him and grabbed his arm with desperation.

“He said he didn’t have much time, but he was going to tell me everything I needed to know. About who he is, what he is and how he is controlled by a man called The Devil. That he works for him in The Underground because it’s the only way to keep his sister alive. He told me that The Devil wears a sigil around his neck and his demon’s soul is siphoned to it. He uses it to control his shifts and makes Heathen do whatever he demands, because if the sigil is destroyed, it will kill them permanently. It also stops him from harming or killing The Devil and any of his family.”

“Did he say who The Devil was?”

“No.” He shook his head. “He doesn’t know. Apparently, whenever he meets with him, he is under a magical disguise. All he knows is that he is a vampire and has blue eyes. Those are the only things that have remained consistent with his appearance. He always dresses well in suits and designer clothes. And he has a soulmate, who is a witch, but he’s never met her in person. He thinks they might have children but he couldn’t be certain. The only other thing he knew was that he had a nephew, someone called Wesley, but he didn’t think that was even his real name. He is a member of The Underground. ”

“Wesley?” I repeated, trying to think of anyone I knew by that name. I came up blank. But it was something, at least.

“Ilaria?” Ronnie turned to me and the emotion in his eyes caused my heart rate to spike. “The Devil knows about you. He doesn’t know you are soulmates, but he knows you were seeing each other. He found your diary, and he realised you knew about Heathen. Luka had to persuade him to let him try to deter you by making you never want to see him again so that he doesn’t come after you. He had to make it believable.”

“Pfft,” I scoffed. “I’d love for him to come after me. Fucking bring it on.”

“He will use his sister.” Ronnie grabbed my hand in his and squeezed it so hard with his new vampire strength I actually winced. “The Devil will send Hana to kill you if this fails. If he senses that this is all a trick and Luka betrayed him again, they will command Hana’s demon to kill you.”

“Oh fuck,” I breathed, realising the genuine danger I was in. “Where is Luka? How can I speak to him? We need to come up with a plan to find and free Hana and expose The Devil at the same time.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Ronnie said with sadness. “I don’t know where he is, but I know he said The Devil has him now. He said if he turned me, he would buy you some more time. Time to figure out who The Devil is and save Hana. I had to find you and tell you all of this. And tell you that…” He paused and inhaled a breath before continuing. “That he’s sorry for hurting you the way he did. He didn’t mean any of it. He loves you more than you’ll ever be able to understand. With your help, we can find Hana and hopefully expose The Devil, because he turned me to help him save her. But… he said it was too late for him. They’re going to kill him, Ilaria.”

My hand shot to my chest on hearing those words, feeling nothing but profound dread, fear and agony coiling around the very fabric of my soul and suffocating my heart. An acute sense of loss at just the thought of that coming true left me breathless. No. I wouldn’t let that happen. There was absolutely no way. Luka may believe that he’d never had anyone to save him, that sacrificing himself to save everyone he loved was the only way, but that was before. Before he met me. One thing was for sure, no one was taking the man I loved from me.

Not even the devil himself.